tihvavy  of  Che  t:heolo0ical  ^eminarjp 

PRINCETON   .   NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

A,    G.    Cameron,  Ph . D , 


^^;© 


SERMON 


I 

REV.    MR.    JOHN    CHAMBERS, 

DELIVERED   AT 

THE    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    IN    THIRTEENTH    STREET, 


PHILADELPHIA, 


On  the  Evening  of  December  2,  1827, 


FROM  THESE  WORDS, 


"  YE  SHALL  NOT  SURELY  DIE." 


TAkEN  IN  SHORT  HAND  BY 

M.  T.,  C.  GOULD,  Stenographer. 


PHILADELPHIA.— 1828. 


* 


/' 


/■ 


o 


0 


NOTE. 

The  Reporter  of  the  following  discourse  considers  it  his  duly  to  say^ 
that  owing  to  his  unfavourable  position  for  hearings  there  may  be  some 
unimportant  omissions  ;  but  as  a  whole,  he  has  reason  to  believe,  that 
it  will  be  found  by  those  who  heard  it  substantially  correct. 


^  SERMON. 


The  subject  to  which  we  invite  your  attention  this  evening,  will 
be  a  {ew  deductions  from  the  following  portion  of  Scripture,  which 
will  be  found  in  the  latter  clause  of  the  fourth  verse  of  the  third 
chapter  of  Genesis.  It  is  a  text  of  the  first  universal  preacher,  that 
we  design  to  make  some  comments  upon,  as  it  is  the  only  one  in  the 
Bible  to  which  the  believers  in  universal  salvation  can  properly 
refer. 

We  mentiQned  this  morning  our  design  of  presenting  you  with 
some  remarks  upon  a  system  of  religion,  falsely  so  called,  and  that 
is  our  object  this  evening. 

I  am  extremely  sorry,  and  perhaps  I  am  wrong  in  saying  so,  that 
indisposition  renders  it  so  difficult  for  me  to  speak ;  but  I  must  look 
for  strength  to  my  Master,  in  whose  service  I  am  willing  to  live  and 
die. 

But  to  proceed :  the  words  of  our  text  are  these  :  "  Ye  shall  not 
surely  die.'''' 

By  way  of  preliminary  observation  I  would  remark,  that  there  are 
certain  things  in  religion  as  well  as  in  politics,  which  must  be  taken 
for  granted ;  and  there  are  other  things  which  must  not  be  taken  for 
granted;  nor  is  there  any  thing  essential  which  is  not  based  upon  the 
soundest  principles  of  reasoning,  and  upon  the  most  powerful  argu- 
ments. It  may  be  that  there  are  some  present,  who  remember  what 
I  mentioned  on  the  last  Lord's  day  morning,  in  relation  to  those 
emissaries  who  are  so  industriously  engaged  in  seeking  to  destroy  the 
souls  of  men :  they  are  labouring  by  all  the  ingenuity  of  the  arch 
fiend  himself,  who  first  presented  the  forbidden  fruit  under  such 
bewitching  charms.  They  would  persuade  you  that  the  idea  6f  future 
punishment  is  only  the  visionary  dream  of  fanatics ;  that  it  does  not 
belong  to  the  system  of  religion  ;  that  it  is  calculated  to  destroy  the 
whole  plan  of  salvation  through  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ. 
There  are  many  individuals  of  weak  minds — I  would  not  speak 'dis- 
respectfully of  babes  in  Christ— upon  whom  that  awful  and  perni- 


cious  imposture  is  practised,  and  sometimes  with  success;  but  never, 
I  apprehend,  successfully  with  men  who  have  gotten  their  religion 
from  the  Bible — it  is  impossible,  unless  they  are  deranged. 

I  know  that  many  have  been  told,  that  the  most  intelligent  men 
have  been  believers  in  this  system.  I  only  reply,  the  devil  was  an 
archangel.  :^.„. 

God,  my  brethren,  has  given  a  law  which  is  to  be  the  guide  and 
direction  of  man's  conduct.  That  law  being  given  in  consequence, 
of  man's  moral  responsibility,  must  be  obeyed  ;  to  ensure  which,  it 
must  be  attended  with  a  penalty  ;  for  a  law  without  a  penalty  would 
be  an  absurdity — there  are  no  laws  without  penalties.  There  are, 
to  be  sure,  certain  rules  of  society  which  have  no  penalties ;  but  all 
laws  which  are  the  result  of  divine  legislation  have  penalties ;  and 
without  such  penalties,  they  would  be  an^ absurdity.  There  is  no 
intelligent  man  who  will  pretend  to  deny  this ;  nay,  every  intelligent 
individual  who  reflects,  must  come  to  this  conclusion,  that  a  law 
for  the  government  of  society  without  a  penalty,  would  be  an 
absurdity. 

Then  seeing  that  God  did  give  a  law,  if  there  be  truth  in  the  Bible, 
and  by  the  by  we  have  no  other  guide,  then  that  law  has  a  penalty  ; 
and  that  this  penalty  is  to  be  inflicted  is  certainly  evident ;  for  when 
the  first  pair  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  they  did  spiritually  die— they 
lost  the  image  of  the  Deity,  and  Avere  driven  from  the  garden  of  God, 
to  seek  their  abode  upon  the  wide  world. 

Now  will  any  one  pretend  to  say  that  Adam  and  Eve  would  have 
been  driven  from  the  garden  of  paradise,  if  there  had  not  been  a  law, 
or  if  that  law  had  not  a  penalty  ?  Was  it  not  the  infliction  of  that 
penalty  that  induced  God  to  drive  them  out  ?  Was  not  this  the  grand 
cause?  Yes,  the  Bible  says  so:  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die."  But  the  serpent,  the  devil,  said,  "  Ye  shall  not 
surely  die." 

Now  there  was  truth  on  the  part  of  God,  or  on  the  part  of  the 
devil ;  and  that  God  spoke  true  is  manifest,  from  his  inflicting  the 
penalty — he  drove  them  away  ;  in  a  word,  he  drove  them  away  to 
seek  an  abode  in  the  world.     These  things  being  so, 

We  proceed,  in  the  first  place,  to  see  what  is  the  practical  result, 
or  effect  of  this  doctrine,  which  says  that  God  will  not  punish ;  that 
there  is  no  hell ;  that  every  man  will  go  to  heaven.  It  is  these  sen- 
timents that  we  are  disposed  to  combat — not  men,  but  systems. 

The  first  practical  effect  of  this  system— (I  will  not  call  it  a  religion, 
for  it  would  be  slandering  God  and  the  Bible,)  this  infidelity,  which 
is  one  of  the  first-born  children  of  the  devil,  bearing  all  the  marks  and 


impress  of  infidelity — the  positive  and  practical  tendency  of  this 
doctrine,  is  the  destruction  of  all  morality  and  religion. 

Now  for  your  proof. 

I  say  the  first  general  remark,  as  flowing  from  this  system,  is,  that 
it  leads  to  the  destruction  of  all  morality  and  religion.  For  whatever 
has  a  tend«icy  to  induce  men  to  violate  the  law  of  God,  leads  to 
aft  abandonment  of  morals.     Morality,  in  the  language  of  men,  is  a 

mpliance  externally  with  the  divine  law,  or  a  compliance  with  the 

remonial  law,  if  you  please.  Hence  every  thing  that  leads  men  to 
violate  the  law  of  God,  leads  them  to  violate  all  morality,  and  to  bring 
religion  to  naught. 

But  you  ask  whether  this  is  the  result  of  a  system  of  this  kind. 
I  say  it  is.  For  the  moment  you  have  thrown  the  rein  from  the  neck 
of  man,  and  obliterated  the  impression,  that  moment  you  have  thrown 
open  the  flood-gates  of  licentiousness;  and  the  moment  you  have 
created  a  disrespect  for  one  law,  all  others  will  be  treated  with  con- 
tempt ;  for  he  who  is  guilty  of  one,  is  guilty  of  all. 

Now  if  it  be  not  a  fact,  that  this  system  of  darkness  is  designed  to 
throw  the  rein  from  the  neck  of  man,  and  to  give  loose  to  the  natural 
passions  of  the  heart,  then  I  know  nothing  of  reasoning  or  argument. 
Is  it  not  one  tendency  of  this  system  to  destroy  the  morality  of  the 
sabbath  ?  To  annihilate  the  sabbath,  or  to  amalgamate  it  with  the 
other  six  days  of  the  week  ?  For  if  the  happiness  of  man  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  God,  what  possible  inducement  can  he  have  to  fulfil  the 
divine  laAv  ?  If  he  violates  the  day  which  God  has  commanded  in  the 
decaloo-ue,  he  has  opened  a  road  for  himself  to  proceed  in,  which 
will  result  in  destruction.  • 

What  is  the  effect — let  us  take  up  things  as  we  find  them — take 
society  as  it  is,  ask  this  man  or  that,  or  ask  this  intelligent  audience, 
to  cast  their  eye:,  over  Christendom,  where  no  respect  is  paid  to  the 
sabbath  day.  Do  you  see  morality,  or  any  thing  like  religion  there? 
No.  There  is  no  religion  there :  if  there  is  any  thing,  it  is  th^t 
which  makes  man  sin  against  God  as  hard  as  he  can  ; — and  this  is  the 
practical  effect.  When  the  morality  of  the  sabbath  is  destroyed,  and 
the  obligation  to  keep  it  disregarded,  that  moment  is  introduced  a 
whole  flood  of  immorality. 

Permit  men  to  feel  that  they  have  nothing  to  fear  in  futurity— and 
none  will  pretend  to  say  that  there  is  any  thing  like  a  just  retribution 
on  earth — none  dare  say  it ;  and  they  will  treat  with  indiflference  the 
sabbath  day :  and  when  the  morahty  of  the  sabbath  is  destroyed,  you 
have  destroyed  all  morality  and  religion,  and  all  respect  for  the  divine 


law;  and  then  are  introduced  covetousness,  blasphemy,  lying,  stealing, 
adultery,  and  a  host  of  similar  evils. 

Now  make  the  impression  upon  the  mind  of  man  that  he  has 
nothing  to  fear  if  he  commits  these,  and  what  is  there  to  keep  him 
back  ?  There  is  nothing.  And  what  is  the  character  of  those  who 
have  always  professed  this  system  ?  Have  they  been  pre-eminent  for 
piety,  for  holiness  of  walk  and  conversation,  for  their  benevolence, 
and  love  to  God  ?  We  are  free  to  admit  that  there  are  some  among 
them  who  may  be,  and  who  are,  respectable,  honest,  upright  men ; 
and  we  are  told  that  many  are  honest  men  ;  but  still  your  argument 
is  good  for  nothing.  If  they  were  as  much  afraid  of  the  laws  of  God 
as  they  are  of  the  laws  of  man,  they  would  be  pious,  holy,  and  prayer- 
ful. But  why  should  a  man  be  prayerful,  diligent,  or  holy,  when  he 
has  nothing  to  lose  ?  ^ 

I  have  nothing  to  fear,  says  he ;  there  is  no  punishment  hereafter ; 
and  if  it  be  more  convenient  for  me  to  be  a  glutton  or  a  drunkard, 
if  I  can  live  easier  in  adultery,  then  let  me  be  an  adulterer.  All 
these  flow  from  this  system — and  why  should  they  not?  There  is  no 
restraint,  there  is  no  law,  there  is  no  fear  of  God  looking  from  off  the 
mercy  seat. 

Now  if  a  system  has  such  a  tendency  as  I  tell  you  this  has,  it  can- 
not but  produce  an  effect  similar  to  that  which  would  be  produced, 
if  it  were  proclaimed  to  the  United  States  that  men  might  do  as  they 
please,  and  that  they  should  never  be  punished ;  that  there  might  be 
a  great  deal  of  threatening,  but  there  never  should  be  any  infliction. 

Now  what  would  be  the  consequence  of  such  a  proclamation  ? 
You  are  all  politicians  enough  to  know  what  the  result  would  be. 
For  you  know  that  while  the  gallows  is  erected,  while  the  doors  of 
our  penitentiaries  are  thrown  open,  there  is  nevertheless  enough  to 
do  to  keep  villany  under,  and  to  meet  the  circumstances  of  the  age ; 
and  will  it  not  be  so  in  this  respect  ?  Is  it  not  so  ?  How  is  the  fact  ? 
\Shen  a  poor,  pious  missionary  enters  their  doors,  he  is  treated  with 
contempt,  and  threatened  to  be  kicked  out  of  their  houses.  Instead 
of  their  children  being  brought  up  at  sabbath  schools,  they  are  taught 
to  care  nothing  about  the  Bible  or  the  sabbath ;  and  when  this  is  the 
case,  we  are  in  danger. 

But  they  say  they  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  devil  or  any  hell ; 
and  these  are  the  practical  effects  which  are  seen  in  infancy,  and 
which  grow  up  through  youth  to  manhood.  I  repeat  it,  the  practical 
effect  of  this  system  is,  a  destruction  of  all  morals  and  all  religion. 
In  twenty  years,  if  it  were  to  prevail,  there  would  be  scarcely  a  ves- 


*ige  of  Christianity  in  the  world  ;  in  fifty  years,  there  would  be  none 
at  all ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  there  would  be  something  like  that 
among  the  heathen. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Romans,  there  is  a 
catalogue  of  immoral  character,  similar  to  that  which  we  should  have 
if  this  system  should  prevail.  And  if  you  cast  your  eye  to  those  re- 
gions of  country  where  they  have  given  up  to  this  system — if  you 
look  beyond  the  flood,  you  will  find  it  to  be  the  case.  We  see  the 
awful  effects  of  this  doctrine  almost  at  the  threshold  of  creation,  in 
consequence  of  which  man's  age  was  reduced  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years ;  and  after  a  long  and  solemn  warning,  God  sent  a  flood 
and  swept  the  people  to  hell.  Look  at  the  city  in  the  plain  ;  how 
did  they  treat  that  holy  light  given  to  Lot  ?  with  what  contempt  did 
they  treat  the  warnings  and  admonitions  of  the  Lord  ;  till  God  sent 
a  flaming  torrent  of  brimstone  to  consume  the  city  and  its  inhabitants? 
Wherever  they  have  abandoned  religion  and  morality,  and  given  up 
the  idea  of  punishment,  all  history  shows,  that  in  all  societies,  and  in 
every  age  of  the  world,  since  the  arch  fiend  took  his  place  in  para- 
dise and  deceived  our  first  parents,  there  have  been  these  awful  con- 
sequences.    And  I  repeat  again,  it  cannot  be  otherwise. 

A  rnan  that  will  stand  up  before  his  little  children,  and  contend 
that  there  is  no  hell ;  that  there  is  no  punishment  after  death ;  that 
the  idea  of  a  devil  is  absurd ;  and  that  all  will  go  to  heaven — the 
whoremonger,  the  debauchee,  and  the  blasphemer ;  a  man  who  can 
sit  down  at  his  fire  side  and  tell  his  little  daughter,  whose  mind  is  not 
yet  destroyed,  that  there  is  as  much  peace,  as  much  glorification  and 
felicity,  for  the  vilest  wretch  upon  earth  as  for  her ;  1  tell  you  there 
is  much  probability  that  such  a  man  will  enter  your  house  and  mur- 
der your  wife  and  children.  Now  should  the  parent  come  in  and, 
finding  his  infant  murdered,  shoot  the  vile  wretch,  would  he  pass 
along  to  hea?ven  with  the  spotless  babe  ?  No,  my  brethren,  no.  But 
he  would  be  plunged  into  hell.  It  is  true  ;  I  am  not  colouring  it  too 
highly,  for  it  is  a  fact ;  and  these  are  the  very  sentiments— there  can 
be  no  other— I  know  it,  for  I  have  been  insultingly  treated  with  their 
pamphlets  upon  the  subject,  which  by  the  by  I  took  the  liberty  of 
burning. 

In  the  second  place. 

As  a  necessary  consequence,  it  leads  to  an  entire  subversion  of  all 
civil  government.  I  have  taken  pains  to  bring  with  me  two  or  three 
quotations  in  relation  to  the  practical  effects  of  this  doctrine.  Mon- 
tesquieu, in  his  Spirit  of  Laws,  says,  "  The  idea  of  a  place  of  future 
rewards  has  a  necessary  connection  with  the  abodes  of  misery ;  and 


when  they  hope  for  the  first  without  fearing  the  latter,  the  civil  laws- 
have  no  longer  any  influence.  Men  who  believe  that  they  are  sure 
of  the  rewards  of  the  other  life,  are  above  the  power  of  the  legisla- 
ture; they  look  upon  death  with  too  much  contempt:  How  shall  the 
,man  be  restrained  hy  laws  who  believes  that  the  greatest  pain  the 
magistrate  can  inflict  will  end  in  a  moment  to  begin  his  happiness  ?" 
The  next  quotation  is  from  one  of  the  chief  infidels  of  Europe, 
Lord  Bolingbroke — [This  quotation  was  not  understood  by  the  r 
porter.]  We  bring  his  testimony  to  show  the  opinion  of  wise  and 
great  men,  who  maintain,  that  the  idea  of  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments  has  a  great  leadeiicy  to  improve  the  morals  of  man- 
kind. We  also  give  the  testimony  of  that  arch  infidel,  the  child  of 
Scotland — where  we  would  scarcely  expect  to  find  such  a  man,  but 
we  have  reason  to  fear  that  her  sons  have#  departed  as  far  from  the 
truth  as  others — we  refer  to  the  celebrated  Hume :  "  You  conclude 
that  religious  doctrines  and  reasonings  can  have  no  influence  on  life, 
because  they  ought  to  have  no  influence;  never  considering,  that 
men  reason  not  in  the  same  manner  you  do,  but  draw  many  conse- 
quences from  the  beUef  of  a  divine  existence,  and  suppose  that  the 
Deity  will  inflict  punishments  on  vice,  and  bestow  rewards  on  virtue, 
beyond  what  appears  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature.  Whether 
this  reasoning  of  theirs  be  just  or  not,  is  no  matter.  Its  influence  on 
their  hfe  and  conduct  must  still  be  the  same.  And  those  who  attempt 
to  disabuse  them  of  such  prejudices,  may,  for  aught  1  know,  be  good 
reasoners,  but  I  cannot  allow  them  to  be  good  citizens  and  politicians; 
since  they  free  men  from  one  restraint  upon  their  passions,  and  make 
the  infringement  of  the  laws  of  society  in  one  respect  more  easy  and 
secure."  , 

I  have  now  given  you  three  quotations  from  three  of  the  wisest  of 
men — the  one  a  French  philosopher,  and  the  other  two  English  phi- 
losophers. "^ 

That  this  is  self-evident  no  one  can  pretend  to  deny,  that  this  sys- 
tem leads  to  the  destruction  of  civil  society  and  civil  government. 
For  what  is  the  condition  of  that  society  where  no  regard  is  paid  to 
religion  ?  Why  it  is  as  much  as  a  man's  head  is  worth  to  put  it  out  of 
his  house — he  dare  not  leave  his  family  for  a  moment  where  there  is 
no  restraint  upon  the  natural  passions  of  men.  For  every  one  will 
admit  that  men  are  inclined  to  vice,  and  hence  they  would  soon  de- 
stroy civil  society.  Who  will  tell  me  that  a  man  who  disregards  the 
God  who  made  him,  will  regard  the  man  who  rules  him  ?  If  he  will 
not  respect  the  laws  of  heaven,  how  can  he  regard  the  laws  of  the 
senate?  If  he  can  trample  upon  the  laws  of  Jehovah,  will  he  regard 


the  laws  of  the  land  ?  True  it  is,  he  cannot  give  sway  to  his  passions 
and  feelings  as  he  pleases,  but  it  only  requires  an  opportunity.    There 
is  so  much  fear  of  punishment,  that  the  infringement  of  the  common 
law  IS  not  so  frequent ;  but  let  the  idea  go  abroad  that  there  shall  be 
no  punishment  hereafter,  and  what  will  be  the  consequence  ?  War, 
blood,  desolation,  and  villany  of  ever^  description.     The  civil  law 
cannot  restrain  the  passions  of  men ;  it  cannot  change  their  disposi- 
tions ;  it  never  did  nor  can  effect  it.     It  is  God,  and  God  alone, 
that  can  effect  it.     The  disposition  of  man,  according  to  the  Bible, 
IS  to  go  away  from  God :  »  The  heart  of  man  is  deceitful  above  all 
thmgs,  and  desperately  wicked."     The  heart  which  is  constantly 
going  away  from  God's  law,  must  disrespect  all  civil  law ;  and  if 
an  idea  prevail  that  there  is  to  be  no  future  punishment,  few  men 
would  regard  the   civil   law;   for  after  all,  the  civil  law  is   dead 
without  this  fear,  as  we  see  if  we  cross  the  Atlantic,  where  a  man  is 
suspended  for  a  farthing.     Has  this  deterred  them  from  crime?  Has 
this  been  a  restraint  upon  the  vices  of  men  ?  Has  the  fear  of  a  civil 
sceptre  awed  them  into  obedience  ?  Not  at  all.  '  The  more  they 
hang,  the  more  they  may  hang ;  and  so  it  will  be,  till  you  bring  men 
to  respect  the  law  of  God ;  without  this  respect,  civil  institutions 
must  increase  their  rigour  tenfold.     For  it  is  only  in  proportion  as 
men  have  a  regard  for  God's  law,  that  they  will  regard  the  civil  law. 
It  is  the  man  who  fears  the  law  of  God,  that  will  respect  the  laws  of 
men ;  it  is  the  man  who  lives  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God,  that 
lives  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  land.     The  man  who  doe's  not 
live  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  will  generally  live  disregardfully 
of  the  law  of  his  country :  it  is  true,  my  friends ;  you  may  depend  this 
is  the  moral  effect. 

Who  are  the  men  that  are  robbing  our  buildings  at  the  midnight 
hour  ?  Are  they  the  pious  ?  Are  they  the  holy  and  pious  attendants 
at  the  sanctuar^,  who  are  defrauding  the  public  exchequer?  Do  we 
find  among  those  the  devoutly  pious,  humble,  faithful  Christian?  No. 
They  are  men  who  disrespect  the  laws  of  God  and  God  entirely. 
Then  you  perceive  that  the  necessary  and  absolute;  tendency  is,  the 
subversion  of  all  civil  law ;  and  that  wherever  these  sentiments  pre- 
vail, civil  society  must  fall  into  barbarism  and  heathenism. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  catalogue  of  vices  enumerated  by 
Paul  in  the  first  chapter  of  Romans,  where  we  see  that  this  was  the 
effect :  the  introduction  of  all  those  evils  was  in  consequence  of  a 
disrespect  for  the  divine  authority.  Look  into  a  land  of  despotism, 
and  what  do  you  see?  You  see  a  disrespect  for  all  morals  and  for  all 
law. 


10 

» 

Suppose  that  all  loved  and  respected  God,  where  would  be  the 
use  of  our  penitentiaries — where  would  be  the  ule  of  our  young 
bastile  of  solitary  confinement?  Where  would  be  the  use  of  our 
courts,  of  our  lawyers,  of  our  magistrates  ?  There  would  be  none  at 
all ;  sin  would  be  banished  from  the  earth ;  nay  more,  nothing  would 
remain  but  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then 
the  sword  of  the  warrior  would  be  beaten  into  the  ploughshare,  and 
the  spear  of  the  murderous  and  merciless  soldier  into  the  pruning 
hook.  Then  would  the  din  of  arms  and  martial  music  be  lost  amid 
the  shouts  of  praise  and  songs  of  holiness  to  the  Lord.  Then  you 
would  see  the  righteous  gathering  beneath  the  wing  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  then  would  peace  and  harmony  prevail ;  because  religion  must 
follow,  and  there  is  a  difference  between  religion  and  morals.  We 
have  many  of  these  professedly  moral  men — I  am  sorry  to  say  it — 
we  have  hosts  of  such  honourable  men,  "  who  are  without  hope,  and 
without  God  in  the  world." 

You  see  then,  reasoning  from  analogy,  that  he  who  sets  aside  the 
law  of  God,  sets  aside  the  law  of  man ;  for  if  we  fear  not  him  that 
made  us,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  we  will  fear  man  who  governs 
us  on  earth.  This  system,  so  far  as  it  is  spreading  its  influence,  is 
leading  to  a  destruction  of  morals  and  religion.  It  is  said,  that  the 
man  who  will  swear  and  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain,  is  as  good  as 
his  neighbour;  and  why  do  you  find  fault  with  him,  seeing  these  idea? 
are  afloat  in  .the  world  ?  It  necessarily  follows,  that,  when  a  man's 
passions  are  let  loose,  so  that  he  regards  not  God,  he  will  not  regard 
the  laws  of  the  land. 

Now  we  have  quoted  these  three  authors,  and  have  supported  our 
argument  without  the  Bible,  and  upon  philosophical  principles. 

In  the  third  place,  we  say  that  all  vice  is  the  immediate  offspring 
of  this  system  or  doctrine. 

There  is  not  a  vice,  from  the  hap'th-worth  stolen  from  the  counter 
of  a  store,  to  the  robberies  committed  upon  the  highways  and  high 
seas,  that  is  not  the  offspring  of  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation. 
There  is  not  a  man  that  commits  a  theft,  that  tells  a  lie,  or  profanes 
the  name  of  God — there  is  not  a  single  vice  of  this  kind,  which  is  not 
the  offspring  of  the  doctrine  and  system  of  universalism. 

Now  you  will,  perhaps,  want  me  to  prove  this.  It  proves  itself. 
Would  the  little  child,  who  creeps  into  a  store  to  take  a  nut  from  the 
counter,  take  it  if  he  thought  he  would  be  punished  for  it  ?  Would 
the  outlaw,  who  puts  the  knife  of  infernal  butchery  to  the  throat  of 
your  wife  or  daughter,  or  who  steals  your  money  when  you  are  absent, 
do  it,  if  he  thought  he  would  be  detected  ?  Would  the  abandoned 


11 

and  bloody  pirate,  who  seeks  the  life  of  his  fellow  upon  the  high 
seas — would  he  commit  these  acts  if  he  thought  he  would  be  punish- 
ed ?  No.  Would  the  individual  who  enters  your  dwelling  and  tells 
a  falsehood,  do  it,  if  he  believed  that  he  would  be  detected?  Would 
the  individual  who  takes  the  name  of  the  Deity  in  vain,  do  it  if  he 
thought  he  would  be  punished  ?  Would  the  individual  who  engages 
in  debauchery,  and  midnight  revelry,  pursue  these  practices  if  he 
thought  he  would  be  punished  for  them?  No  :  it  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. And  all  these,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  proceed  upon  the 
ground  that  they  will  escape,  and  that  there  will  be  no  punishment. 
You  would  pronounce  a  man  a  fool,  to  be  guilty  of  these  things  if  he 
knew  he  would  be  punished  for  them.  He  would  be  pronounced  a 
madman  and  a  fool  for  such  conduct.  But  they  all  do  it  under  the 
garb  of  this  infernal  doctrine,  that  there  will  be  no  punishment. 

There  is  not  a  single  sin  nor  vice  which  is  not  the  immediate  ofT- 
spri^g  of  this  system.  Drunkenness,  murder,  wars,  and  rumours  of 
wars,  all  flow  from  this  system,  as  the  natural  effects ; — and  it  is  pre- 
cisely the  system  of  the  devil — "  Ye  shall  not  surely  die  ;"  you  shall 
not  be  punished. 

Now,  my  friends,  we  believe  the  Bible  will  support  these  views. 
It  is  the  fool,  saith  the  psalmist,  that  saith  there  is  no  God ;  the  hcen- 
tious  say,  let  us  eat  and  drink  for  to-morrow  we  die.  But  the  Bible 
reprobates  over  and  over  again,  all  such  sentiments.  And  I  do  main- 
tain, that  upon  principles  of  justice,  reason,  and  analogy,  every  vice 
does  result  frOm  this  system. 

The  first  sin  that  was  committed  was  in  consequence  of  the  adver- 
sary inducing  our  first  parents  to  believe,  that  they  might  become  as 
gods,  knowing  good  and  evil ;  and  they  complied,  under  the  impres- 
sion that  there  would  be  no  evil  consequences.  They  accordingly 
took  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  eat  it.  And  so  it  is  that  a  man  enters 
your  counting-house  as  a  merchant,  and  makes  a  contract  with  you, 
designing  at  the  same  time  to  defraud  you ; — he  does  it  under  the  influ- 
ence of  this  same  system.  Would  he,  if  he  believed  he  would  be 
detected,  be  guilty  of  such  an  act  for  the  sake  of  a  few  thousand  dol- 
lars ?  Or  would  he  come  out  as  a  forger,  or  unlawful  representer  of 
the  coin  or  paper  of  the  day,  and  forge  his  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands,  if  he  thought  he  would  be  detected  ^  No,  he  is  a  univer- 
saHst,  and  believes  that  he  will  escape.  He  would  not  dare  to  do  it, 
if  he  did  not  believe  that  he  would  escape. 

Now  these  are  facts,  irresistible  facts ;  and  they  are  conclusions 
that  every  individual  of  good  feeling  and  sense  must  arrive  at ;  not 


12 

because  T  have  said  so,  but  because,  as  I  think,  they  will  all  necessa- 
rily come  to  the  same  results  for  themselves. 
I  :  We  say,  then,  that  all  vice  is  the  immediate  offspring  of  this  system^ 

%^  of  doctrines.     The  doctrine  of  universal  salvation  leads  to  all  the 

'  ^  vices  and  abominations  under  heaven.     And  if  a  disrespect  for  the 

^  law  of  God  has  this  tendency  when  a  man  is  impressed  with  it,  it 

will  go  on  till  it  has  involved  the  whole  country  in  ruin ; — there  is  no 
getting  rid  of  this  conclusion. 

Knowing  that  the  penalty  of  the  law  is  so  and  so,  the  cold  calcu- 
lating murderer  lays  his  plots  and  schemes ;  but  does  he  do  it  think- 
ing that  he  will  be  detected  ?  No,  he  does  it  fully  believing  that  he 
will  escape  punishment.  And  this  kind  of  disrespect  for  the  laws  of 
God  and  man,  is  that  which  is  robbing  society  of  its  choicest  honours. 
*  New  York  tells  a  mournful  tale  in  ^onseOjUence  of  this  doctrine, 

and  continues  to  furnish  another  and  another  example — (alluding  to  a 
recent  duel  between  a  citizen  of  New  York  and  a  citizen  of  Phila- 
delphia, or  the  city  of  brotherly  love) — but  would  these  young  men 
have  stepped  into  the  field  to  jeopardise  their  lives,  their  talents,  and 
their  all,  if  they  had  regarded  the  laws  of  their  God  ?  If  they  had 
been  under  the  influence  of  Jesus,  instead  of  pistol,  powder,  and 
ball,  they  would  have  taken  the  Bible,  and  away  to  the  throne  of 
grace.  You  may  suppose  that  these  things  are  very  well,  and  that 
they  sound  very  well ;  but  if  they  are  not  true,  you  are  under  no 
obligation  to  take  them  ;  and  if  you  cannot  demonstrate  them  to  be 
facts,  you  are  not  bound  to  receive  them.  I  can  declare  in  the 
name  of  that  God  who  is  to  judge  me  and  you,  that  the  indelible 
impression  upon  my  heart  is,  that  this  system  does  lead  to  these  results. 
Perhaps  I  am  now  preaching  to  men  of  these  very  sentiments ; — curi- 
osity may  have  induced  them  to  come  here,  and  may  God  grant  that 
their  curiosity  may  be  converted  to  a  belief  of  the"  truth. 
w  No  doubt  these  sentiments  and  views  are  to  be  retailed  again ;  but 

if  so,  we  have  not  thrown  them  out  with  any  such  intention  on  our 
own  part.  We  do  not  take  up  the  gauntlet  willingly,  but  to  defend ; 
we  do  it  at  home,  in  our  own  pulpit ;  and  in  the  face  of  all,  we  stand 
on  our  own  ground.  As  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  whrist,  we  are 
afraid  of  no  man  ;  and  we  will  defend  the  truth  of  God,  and  the  best 
interests  of  society,  till  our  breath  is  gone,  and  our  souls  have  passed 
to  immortality.  And  we  trust,  through  Jesus  Christ,  we  are  not 
boasting,  but  that  we  are  presenting  you  these  things,  in  order  that 
you  may  the  better  understand  your  true  interest. 

You  may  take  up  the  Bible,  and  if  you  can  find  that  the  whore- 


13 

monger,  the  liar,  the  drunkard,  the  robber,  the  murderer,  and  others 
who  are  hving  in  such  abominable  habits  of  vice,  are  to  enjoy  eternal 
glorification ;  if  you  can  find  that  the  Bible  secures  to  them  the 
reward  of  eternal  felicity,  and  the  laurels  of  triumph  to  deck  their 
brow ;  if  you  find  in  the  Bible  no  such  place  as  hell,  and  no  such 
being  as  the  devil ;  that  all  those  who  regard  not  the  divine  law  and 
its  consequences  are  going  to  heaven  as  certainly  as  the  virgin  Mary, 
or  Paul  the  apostle  ;  or  as  certainly  as  the  most  virtuous  among  ua ; 
if  you  find  that  (he  most  abominable  whoremonger,  adulfJerei*,  swear- 
er,  drunkard,  thief,  highway  robber  and  murderer,  are  as  certain  of 
heaven  as  the  most  virtuous  and  religious  female ;  then  you  are  at 
liberty  to  believe  it ;  but  do  not  believe  it  till  you  find  it  in  the  BibTe. 
I  charge  you,  in  the  name  of  God  Almighty,  not  to  believe  it ! 

I  am  willing  that  every  man  should  beheve  the  doctrines  which 
are  Avell  established  by  the  Bible ;  but  are  you  prepared  to  believe  a 
system  of  doctrines  that  will  tell  you,  the  bloody  Nero  sits  as  near 
the  throne  of  God's  grace  as  the  little  spotless  babe  1  Are  you  pre- 
pared to  beheve  that  those  piratical  wretches  that  jeopardise  the 
lives  of  our  useful  seamen,  and  who  fatten  upon  the  blood  and  spoil 
of  widows  and  orphans,  are  as  sure  of  heaven  as  the  man  of  purity 
and  devotedness  of  heart  ?  I  ask  you  to  beheve  it  if  you  can.  If  there 
were  a  man  in  the  universe  that  could  believe  this,  1  should  think 
him  the  greatest  anomaly  in  nature. 

1  know  that  this  system  will  answer  to  live  by,  but  it  will  not  do  to 
die  by.    It  is  but  a  short  time  since,  that  I  was  called  to  attend  the  sick 

and  dying  hours  of  a  man  who  had  tried  to  believe  it.    I  mean ^ 

who  said,  "  Oh  !  if  I  could  only  hve  to  warn  my  friends  of  this  dread- 
ful doctrine  !"  And  this  Avould  be  the  dying  testimony  of  every  man 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  1  heard  him  say  that  he  had 
often  tried  to  believe  that  doctrine,  but  could  not;  and  there  are 
others  Avho  have  heard  him  say  it.  But  I  have  entirely  exhausted 
my  strength,  and  I  will  conclude  by  one  or  two  inferences. 

In  the  first  place,  we  say,  that  a  man  who  believes  in  a  system  of 
this  description,  should  never  be  entrusted  with  the  instruction  of 
youth.  Why,  my  brethren,  I  appeal  to  you  as  men  of  sense  and 
reason,  what  kind  of  teachers  would  they  be — what  morals  would 
your  children  learn  ?  would  they  learn  to  respect  God  or  their  coun- 
try ?  No,  it  is  impossible.  Individuals  maintaining  such  sentimeatf 
are  altogether  disqualified  for  moral  discipline ;  they  have  no  morality 
and  no  religion.  For  what  use  has  such  a  man  for  religion  ?  He  has 
no  use  at  all,  any  more  than  he  has  for  as  many  again  eyes  as  nature 
has  given  him,  or  as  many  more  arms  or  other  limbs.     Of  what  use 


14 

is  religion  to  him  ?  Is  it  wanted  to  take  him  to  heaven  ?  No :  he  is 
determined  to  go  there  without  it.  Does  he  want  it  to  hve  in  the 
world  ?  No.  To  make  a  fortune  ?  No.  He  must  lay  aside  religion, 
if  he  would  make  a  fortune  popularly.  And  if  this  be  his  prominent 
object,  he  would  find  it  difficult  to  get  along  without  occasionally 
stepping  aside  from  the  path  of  truth.  He  does  not  want  religion  for 
these  objects.  Religion  is  to  make  us  fit  for  dying ;  and  if  we  have 
rehgion,  we  shall  not  commit  the  instruction  of  our  children  to  such 
individuals ;  we  shall  rather  send  them  to  the  savage  tribes  of  the 
forest ;  for  in  most  of  them,  they  would  learn  something^of  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments.  But  to  entrust  them  to  men  who 
regard  neither  the  law  of  God  nor  man,  is  to  commit  them  to  a  species 
of  spiritual  cannibals. 

A  man  holding  such  sentiments  should  never  be  entrusted  with  any 
civil  office ;  for  on  what  principle  would  you  admit  a  man  to  a  civil 
office,  who  rejects  the  idea  of  future  rewards  and  punishments  ?  A 
man  who  has  no  regard. for  an  oath?  For  take  away  the  penalty  of 
punishment,  and  it  is  ridiculous  to  talk  of  the  force  of  oaths.  If  a 
man  has  no  fear  of  punishment,  what  regard  can  he  have  for  right- 
eousness and  justice  between  man  and  man  ?  To  trust  your  cause 
with  such  a  man,  is  to  give  it  to  the  four  winds.  And  they  are  not 
allowed  the  liberty  of  an  oath  in  some  of  our  states.  I  would  just  as 
quick  allow  a  convict  from  your  state  penitentiary  to  take  an  oath. 
I  have  no  confidence  in  such  oaths  at  all,  no  more  than  in  the  quick- 
sands—where men  have  no  regard  for  the  laws  of  God,  nor  for  the 
laws  of  their  country  :  and  many  there  are  who  have  none  at  all ; 
they  cannot  have,  while  going  on  under  the  influence  of  such  doc- 
trines. 

Every  man  ought  to  lift  up  his  voice  and  Iiis  hands  against  such 
men  being  entrusted  with  the  instruction  of  youth,  or  with  any  office 
in  the  government.  They  may  be  permitted  to  live  along ;  nor  have 
we  a  right  to  do  any  thing  to  disturb  them.  I  would  not  lift  my 
finger,  nor  would  I  sanction  the  man  that  would  lift  a  finger  against 
such  men,  whatever  might  be  their  views  upon  religion,  philosophy, 
or  morals.  We  must  let  them  go  on,  but  then  let  us  show  them  that 
we  have  no  confidence  in  their  integrity.  This  is  not  intolerance,  it 
is  not  a  want  of  charity.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  man  in  the  United 
§itates  who  would  permit  a  universalist  to  take  an  oath  against  him  ; 
and  if  not,  of  what  use  would  his  oath  be  whcft  sworn  into  office  ? 
At  present  this  is  as  far  as  I  am  able  to  go,  anti  I  leave  it  with  your- 
selves, to  be  a  subject  of  awful  solemnity ;  for  hinged  on  this  is  all 
that  is  interestiug  and  valuable. 


15 

If  I  address  men  of  these  opinions  and  notions,  1  take  this  oppor- 
tunity to  warn  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  to  flee  from  the  grasp  of  the  fiend  of  darkness,  who  is  fastening 
his  fangs  in  their  everlasting  welfare.  You  may  ridicule,  condemn, 
and  reject  all  this ;  but  the  day  is  coming  when  you  shall  be  brought 
where  God  Almighty  shall  rain  from  heaven,  "  fire  and  brimstone 
and  an  horrible  tempest  upon  the  wicked  and  ungodly,  and  the  wicked 
shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget  God." 

Let  me  then,  in  the  benevolence  of  my  heart,  if  you  embrace  any 
such  sentiments,  call  upon  you  to  renounce  them,  and  to  flee  to  the 
refuge  set  before  you  by  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Away  from  this 
brink  of  ruin,  for  the  time  is  coming  when  your  universalism  will 
leave  you,  stumbling  upon  the  ground,  and  the  screech  will  be  heard, 
my  day  of  grace  is  past,  and  I  am  lost,  I  am  lost ! 

Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  renounce  this  doctrine  now, 
and  renounce  it  for  ever ;  for  it  will  entail  upon  your  souls  the  ever- 
lasting chains  of  hell,  where  there  will  be  nought  but  weeping,  wail- 
ing, and  gnashing  of  teeth.  Come,  then,  though  you  may  be  an  enemy 
to  God,  and  a  rankling  enemy  of  the  preacher,  come  to  Jesus  Christ, 
the  redeeming  Saviour,  the  divine  Saviour,  the  glorified  Saviour ; 
come,  come— and  then,  though  "  the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  together 
as  a  scroll,"  and  the  burning  "elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  beat,'' 
and  though  "the  wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,"  the  righteous  shall 
be  covered  over  with  the  glory  of  immortality,  and  shall  shout  halle- 
lujahs and  praises  to  the  Lord  for  ever. 

Friends  of  religi9n,  friends  of  virtue,  friends  of  truth,  friends  of 
civil  society,  I  call  upon  you  all  to  raise  your  prayers,  to  raise  your 
voices  against  a  system  so  demoralizing  in  its  nature,  and  so  destruc- 
tive in  its  consequences. 

May  God  be  with  us,  and  bring  you  and  me  to  see  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Christ :  And  to  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be  the  praise 
for  ever. 


ICI 


